As many individuals age they can become partially or completely edentulous, i.e., they lose one or more teeth and, yet, gum tissue remains. This can be caused by a wide array of issues, including periodontal disease, tooth decay, improper nutrition, simple decay, developmental defects, genetic defects, and/or or trauma or other factors, presenting alone or in combination. When this occurs, individuals lose some or all of their teeth and should be fitted with one or more replacement teeth or a complete set of false teeth or bridges, implants, partial or full dentures, etc. (hereinafter often collectively referred to as “dentures,” but it should be understood that the term is meant to be inclusive of everything and anything which a dentist may select to remediate a patient's mouth including one tooth or one or more teeth, i.e., within the normal range of dentistry), to replace those having been decayed, lost over time, disfigured and meant to be replaced, etc. To remediate and provide one tooth or one or more new or replacement teeth, patients or individuals in need often get dentures, which are prosthetic, false (often acrylic or more expensive porcelain) teeth constructed to replace the tooth or, more likely, more than one tooth, hereinafter for ease of illustration referred to as “teeth.” Removable, whether a single tooth, a bridge, multiple new artificial teeth, etc. are referred to herein as the representative illustration as full or partial dentures and are used when an individual has lost only some teeth and/or a complete set of dentures, or dental implants, can be used when an individual is substantially or fully edentulous. Providing a full or partial set of dentures to an edendulous patient is the illustrated embodiment but those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the systems and components of the present disclosed invention can be adapted for many dental procedures without departing from the basics taught herein.
The process, in the past, is done by a qualified and licensed dental practitioner and often requires more than a single dental appointment for first taking appropriate molds of the patient's upper and lower arches and gum topography, then sending the same to a lab, having the lab create proposed new teeth and then fitting the same into the patient's mouth. This is time consuming, expensive, possibly embarrassing to the patient until the dentures are provided, inconvenient to the patient, and often results in compromising the quality of the end product. It is believed that a one-time, possibly single visit to the dentist's office, which will allow a fully or partially edentulous patient to go from a state of edentulousness to beautiful smile with a partial or complete set of teeth or dentures, would be a huge boon to the patient, to the dentist, and to the dental manufacturer supplying the various components. This would likely be exceptionally advantageous to otherwise poorly served communities where the number of dentists is small and the ability to pay is lacking, too, by the patients.
The present invention discloses the individual disposable components, an integrated system, and a comprehensive method for preparing a set of dentures—partial or full, uppers and/or lowers—possibly in a single visit by using the patient's own mouth as the holding chamber or cavity for the molds and teeth to be used in the formation of the dentures. In effect, the present invention provides an easy to use, inexpensive, disposable device(s) for allowing the patient's own oral cavity to serve as the articulator for preparation of the dentures. Stated differently, by providing a new integrated component and a device, along with proposed and artificial teeth (or single tooth) including a set of trays which are used within the patient's mouth for forming a mold of the gum lines and teeth which can be secured to the trays, dentures can be fitted, in color, size, type, bite, fit, etc. and made to fit in preferably a single visit to the dentist. Additionally, the components for the articulation system are meant to be disposable and thus inexpensive to produce. No sterlilyzing or autoclaving between patient visits is contemplated by the present invention. Rather, the trays and teeth attached to the trays are used for that patient, the completed representative new set of dentures then turned into proper dentures, and the trays, the teeth then discarded and a new set of the present components used for the next patient. The cost savings, time savings, comfort to the patient, the dentist's profitability, etc. will likely all be maximized. This is a primary goal of the present invention.
Finished dentures are preferably composite or acrylic-molded teeth fit which are integrated into an acrylic set of gums which, as a unit, uppers and lowers, are then adhered or form fit into the mouth of a patient, fitting and being secured on the remaining gums of the patient. These replacement teeth will be located where the patient's original teeth have been lost, removed or destroyed. The gums of the patient serve to hold the new acrylic gums of the dentures and they hold the new and attractive, in color, size, shape and fit, teeth of the patient. The patient will insert the new dentures into the mouth with the female concavity of the new gum of the denture fitting over and precisely accepting the remaining male or upwardly protruding gum(s) of the patient's mouth. The new acrylic or porcelain teeth will project out through the patient's mouth in a pleasing and useful manner. Of course, the new teeth are meant to match the patient's original teeth or to provide an enhanced set of teeth, all to provide a suitable and pleasing smile with suitably shaped and colored teeth for the patient's mouth, complexion, smile lines, etc. For purposes of this disclosure, all types of dental procedures made possible by the present invention, namely full dentures, partial dentures, single or multiple teeth, bridges, new dental implants, dental implant retention, and other procedures, will often be hereinafter referred to collectively as “dentures.”
A system, set of components and method for creating a set of dentures for a patient by using the patient's mouth as the articulator (where in the past, except for my own prior invention which this invention is a continuation in part a separate mechanical articulator was used) is presented, comprising customized disposable lower and upper dental trays for first creating an impression of the patient's lower ridge and upper ridge or remaining gums of the mouth, respectively, a customized upper and lower palatal dental tray for creating an impression of the patient's upper and lower mouth portion, respectively, including the palatal arch, and a means to lock the same in place for accurate separation and spacing of the impressions formed in the upper and lower trays while also serving as an artificial tooth holding device. Basically, the present invention allows the dentist to use the patient's own mouth as the cavity and vehicle within which to create the set of dentures. This is accomplished by providing a set of disposable trays for creating dental impressions of the holding gum ridges and then securing to the new trays the color, shape, size, etc. teeth, which then allow a complete set of dentures to be formed for ultimate placement in the patient's mouth.
The disposable trays of the present invention allow for vertical adjustment of the spacing between the impressions formed by the disposable trays while within the patient's mouth and for locking the same into place—that is, for proper distance from one another which is important in replicating the spacing when the final dentures are created—all while the trays are within the patient's mouth. The patient and dentist thus are provided with the precise color, shape, type, location, fit of the proposed teeth within the patient's mouth and are not forced to use a separate mechanical articulator to try to envision the dentures in the mouth. Clearly, not onlyure speed, expense are saved, but the end product is likely to be far better in fit, look, comfort, color, etc. to both dentist and patient as the dentures are seen in the actual mouth of the patient during the procedure.
The disposable trays coordinate with other associated components, allowing dental impressions of the gum ridges, palatal arch, and remaining teeth of the patient's mouth to be obtained. According to the invention, new and inventive lower and upper impression-forming trays are each provided with a set of concave platforms which are configured to fit around the gum ridges or existing teeth (in the case of a partially edentulous patient). Those aspects of the trays are similar to current trays used for making upper and lower dental impressions. Suitable impression material is placed into the channels, they are fit over the gum ridges and/or teeth and the material quickly cures to form a female impression of the gum ridges, the palatal arch and the remaining teeth. The dentist can quickly “pop” the impression material off of and out of the mouth after curing and then the impression is useful in making a corresponding male version of the dental structure (corresponding to the actual mouth of the patient) and from that the end denture gum-holding structure can be formed. The disposable trays of the present invention, however, are new and distinct in that in addition to providing a suitable means to create the female of the gums for fitting over the remaining gums of the patient (the female gums to hold the new teeth of the dentures) the trays provide surfaces for selective attachment of new artificial teeth which can then be molded to the impression material, all toward the goal of creating a new set of denture, teeth and gum holding components, all while allowing the dentist to place the teeth on the trays to “see” the teeth, in color, size, shape, fit, etc. within the patient's mouth. Then, with the complete trays and teeth assembled within the mouth (in effect the patient's own mouth is the substitute for the otherwise separate mechanical articulator for the creation of new dentures) the dentist can either create the dentures then or send the entire “build up” to the lab for creating porcelain or acrylic teeth/dentures. Those will have the gum securing impression and the final color, shape, placement, fit, etc. of teeth.
The trays are held in place within the mouth by the channel being superimposed over the remaining gum line or ridge. The tray is used for both creating the gum ridge holding impression and for placement of the teeth in the mouth for fitting of the teeth. A vertically adjustable screw with a palatal shaped cap is provided which enables the securement of the lower tray within the mouth and serves as a palatal arch component. The cap is secured to the top of the screw head and not only positions the lower tray from the upper arch for use by the dentist when the tray is removed from the mouth but also serves to easily allow the distance to be comfortably and accurately maintained as the palatal arch of the screw's cap can be locked in position, as desired during the process. The palatal tray member can be vertically positioned in the mouth with respect to the lower tray to match the vertical distance between the top and bottom of a patient's mouth.
One or more sets of teeth or units of dentures comprised of a wax substrate and the actual and appropriate color, size and shape of tooth (teeth) sought to be created for the patient is also provided by the present system. These units are securable to the tray while within the patient's mouth by adding wax to the rear of the sections of artificial teeth and pressing the wax on the back of the artificial teeth to a vertical set of ridges or grooves which extend convexly around the tray. The grooves basically follow the curvature of the mouth and extend vertically. The rear of the artificial teeth, with wax thereon, can be press fit to and against the forwardly projecting vertically ridges or grooves to adhere the teeth with wax to the front of the tray. This will allow the patient and the dentist to see how the teeth will look, within the patient's mouth, so that changes can be made, in color, size, shape, fit, etc. while using the patient's mouth as the mechanical articulator. Then, once the teeth on the tray is established as suitable and proper, the tray with teeth can be removed and the final dentures created either by using the same artificial teeth along with a new gum impression or by sending the fulfilled system to the dental lab. Then, the teeth with the proper fitting, gum female component, for fitting over the remaining gums of the patient, can be made. The patient is thus provided with a new set of dentures.
The position of the units of teeth can be adjusted with relation to one another, to the gums, lips, mouth other anatomical components (lower lobes of ears and beneath the nose line, etc.) for appropriate fit, look, and placement.
Once properly set up, with the gum holding impression and the new artificial teeth secured to the disposable tray, the dentist can either use the resultant product to create in his own lab a set of dentures or send the same to a lab for the same. An external articulator can be used to complete the process since the relative orientation of the trays and the teeth are then fixed, all with respect to one another and as set by and within the patient's own mouth. The present invention allows for creation of an accurate set of dentures, using the patient's mouth as the articulator, providing a system and method to do so in a single visit, thereby minimizing the time required for this process, and utilizing inexpensive, disposable components for a relatively low-cost procedure.
Basically, to prepare a set of dentures using the present invention, the disposable tray (upper or lower) is placed in the patient's mouth for impressions to be taken of the upper or lower remaining gum configurations. They, of course, will support and hold the new dentures. The impressions will be used to create the new dentures with the teeth embedded or secured therein.
The mouth can be held open, if needed, using a set of retractors to pull the lips and cheeks apart, and providing free access to the gums. To make and take each impression, a customized upper or lower tray are provided which is first filled with soft, quickly curable, dental impression material. The impression material is preferably made of a flexible, formable material, capable of being cured and shaped in the exact configuration of the gum ridge formed and found in the bottom and top of the edentulous patient (for purposes of ease of illustration a complete edentulous mouth is considered herein, but the same procedure can be utilized for a partially edentulous patient).
Once the impression material is placed in each tray, the trays can be placed, preferably one at a time, into the mouth of a patient, on the upper and lower gums, respectively. The trays having holding handles, either integrated with the trays or removable therefrom when the trays are used for following steps. The trays are generally similar to current trays used for creating impressions of a patient's mouth, i.e., a semi-circular trough which will fit over, with impression material first placed therein, the gum ridge and teeth, if any, of the patient. Over a short time, the impression material hardens and the tray then removed. The resulting female cavity is the negative for forming an a new denture which will fit over and be secured and located on the gum ridge of the patient, just as is done in current procedures.
The impression material will cure or harden (by mere passage of time, by a light curing device, etc.) once in place in the tray and within the mouth, thereby creating a female or negative mold of the gums of the patient's mouth. In the preferred embodiment, the trays are coated with polyvinyl siloxane (hereinafter “PVS”) for quickly and easily forming the impressions of the upper and lower gums. A suitable tray is used, much as in conventional dental molding or impression formation, with the proper shape, size, upper or lower, of course, being taken into consideration. However, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the impression forming trays are modified from that conventionally available for impressions as they are not only disposable, but provided with a vertical screw mechanism to measure the distance between the gum line and the roof of the mouth for accurate impressions for the artificial teeth to be formed by the present invention. And, importantly, as mentioned, illustrated and described, these new trays have semi-circular, vertically extending holding ridges which allow new artificial teeth, back waxed, to grip thereto for positioning and placement within the patient's mouth. This allows adjustment to the positioning, color, size, shape ad fit of the artificial teeth within the patient's own mouth, before creating the final dentures. Using the patient's own mouth as a substitute for the mechanical, separate articulator is believed to be a huge new advantage in the denture field.
The upper and lower trays, consistent with the present invention, are preferably used and provided with an easily snappable, removably-coupled small, forwardly protruding handle, which allows the dentist to place the tray into the mouth and remove the same after the impression material cures. The handle allows the dentist to control and direct the tray(s) into the desired location in the patient's mouth and, yet, is easily removed from the tray, after the tray, with the impression material cured, is removed from the mouth. The handle allows a dentist to properly position the trays into the mouth along the upper and lower gums and hold them in place so that the impression material can cure and harden. The removable handle allows the cured impression and the tray to be easily removed from the patient's mouth. Also, after the mold is created for the gum-holding component of the dentures, the tray is inserted and removed for the placement of the new artificial teeth thereon. The handle facilitates this entire effort.
Prior to the impressions or molds being taken, the vertical dimension of occlusion (the distance between the two dental arches) can be measured and recorded by the dentist, as is conventional. This procedure can be done according to conventional dental or industry standards—i.e., a pen dot is placed on the patient's tip of the nose and center of the chin, the patient relaxes by breathing in and out with their lips closed, and once relaxed, a ruler is used to measure the dot of the nose-to-chin distance, i.e., from one dot to the other. Additionally, the upper tray is preferably provided with a cross bar and an internally threaded aperture in the center thereof. A corresponding and mating screw with a cap as a palatal arch is provided. The screw threads are received by the threads of the aperture and the screw, with the palatal arch bearing up and against the bottom of the patient's palatal, adjusted so that the distance between palatal arch of the patient and the gum ridge at the bottom of the patient's mouth measured and locked in place. A locking ring will hold the screw in place and the entire system, tray and screw with palatal arch and locking ring, can be removed and replaced as desired and needed into the patient's mouth. The free end of the screw is inserted into the threaded aperture of the cross bar of the lower tray by mechanical locking of the external screw threads of the screw and the internal screw threads of the aperture. The palatal arch or cap of the screw is then moved up and down so that it precisely touches the actual palatal arch of the patient. Then, the locking nut is tightened. This allows the dimension of occlusion to be measured and maintained even as the trays are removed and then reinserted in place, i.e., within the mouth, to be held in place while the artificial teeth are attached to the tray and even while the completed systems is then used to create a set of dentures. Each tray preferably comprises a mold forming component (like a trough in semi-circular shape corresponding to shape and size of the patient) which overlies the corresponding gum line.
The palatal piece secured to the top or cap of the screw head is preferably smaller than the full trays as it is not designed to create a mold of the upper gums for teeth, but merely to rest below the roof of the mouth so as to provide proper measurement of the vertical opening of the mouth while either tray is placed therein. The small palatal arch is a substitute for a full upper molding tray and is believed more comfortable in use. During initial use, the vertical dimension of the palatal tray can be moved relative to that of the lower tray to which it is secured, all to match the height, space, orientation, and angle of the interior cavity of the patient's mouth all while within the patient's mouth.
A separate palatal tray, similar to the lower tray is provided. Additional impression material can be placed into the palatal tray so as to get an additional negative mold of the upper arch and upper gum ridge of the mouth as well. This can be used later, as will the impression formed by the lower tray, to create stone molds of the patient's mouth and then custom trays, to be used with the upper and lower trays and the artificial teeth, all to create dentures for the patient.
When the lower tray is removed from the patient's mouth having a cured mold impression of the gum ridge therein and with or without the palatal tray connected thereto (via the screw) a negative mold created in the tray should allow the tray to be reinserted into the patient's mouth and to sit comfortably on the gum ridges (after all, the mold matches that of the patient's gums) thereby allowing the palatal tray to move into place into the roof of the mouth in accordance with the curvature and location of the upper arch of the mouth while the lower impression fits over the lower gum ridge. Once the lower tray and palatal tray are located within the mouth, and height and relative side, forward, occlusion dimensions satisfied, the dentist can “lock” in place the height of the screw with the palatal tray using a locking nut which mates with the screw, and thereby lock in place the relative location and orientation of the lower tray and its impression material and the palatal tray. Upon securement of the height of the screw and palatal tray in place in the aperture of the cross bar of the lower tray, the tray can be removed from the patient's mouth. Basically, the same procedure can be used for impression of the upper gum line.
To ensure proper placement of trays within the mouth and to ensure teeth orientation vis a vis the patient's mouth, lips, ears, nose, etc., an occlusal plane device is provided and can be used. This device is a thin, flat, semi-circular or arc shaped accessory, which connects to the lower tray and will extend outwardly and surround the separation of the patient's lips. In the present invention, the occlusal plane accessory or device is also made of a disposable material so that it may be used for a single patient and then disposed of after completion of the dentures. This device allows the dentist to ensure dental principals are maintained, i.e., for example, relative horizontal location of the lower tray across the patient's face, facilitating alignment of the nose, the lower ends of the ears, the patient's eyes, ensuring proper location of the tray and the proposed artificial teeth across the patient's face. The occlusal plane device is positioned to help the dentist align the teeth substantially parallel to the eyes, nose, and the ala tragus of the patient, ensuring that the tray(s) and the artificial teeth secured thereto are placed in the proper alignment so that the installed dentures will be straight, as desired, and not crooked or misaligned with the patient's face, mouth and lis. This is all done consistent with standard dental principles.
Teeth can then be secured and held to the trays. Dental wax can be secured to the rear of a set of acrylic or porcelain teeth, which can then be pressed against and thus frictionally attached to forwardly projecting ridges or vertical grooves of the upper and/or lower tray for holding and maintaining the artificial teeth in place thereon. These artificial teeth are selected by color, size, shape, fit, etc. from available artificial teeth, all maintained by the dentist for this procedure. One or more teeth may be provided for this purpose but the dentist, selecting the proper teeth will push the rear waxy surface of the teeth against the vertical ridges of the trays to hold the same in place. In this manner, the dentist is creating a new set of artificial teeth, using the patient's own mouth as the mechanical articulator, for the purpose of creating a new set of dentures.
This allows a dentist to position the teeth in proper size, spacing, color, fit, location, etc. with respect to one another and within the mouth and with reference to the gums, lips, and nose of the patient—allowing the dentist to replace, adjust and move the artificial teeth on the tray until the exact set of new artificial teeth is visible. In one embodiment, the wax will then cure or harden and set so that the dentist can remove the same and create the actual set of dentures. In one embodiment of the present invention, the used artificial teeth are the final end product artificial teeth of the dentures. In another embodiment, the artificial teeth used by the dentist for the purpose of creating the new “look” and set of teeth are used by the dentist or the lab to create a new set of dentures, acrylic or porcelain.
In one embodiment, the teeth are assembled and adjusted within the patient's mouth. Ina another embodiment, the teeth are assembled in a mechanical articulator but the trays are used to insert and “try” the trays and teeth into the patient, as desired.
The upper and lower negative impressions of the gum and mouth structure—as taken by the upper tray, lower tray, and palatal tray—can be poured with dental stone. The dental stone creates a positive impression of the patient's mouth, as it will form within and around the negative impression made by the molded and then cured impression material in the trays.
A standard, mechanical, external-to-the-mouth dental articulator can be used as a holding unit for the stone models. Quick setting dental plaster can then be placed on the bottom and the top of the conventional articulator; the stone models just formed being still attached to the trays, holding it until the quick-set plaster is dry. Once the stone models are made, either tray can be placed between the models so that the proper height of the overall stone model, i.e., the distance between the top of the palatal tray and the bottom of the lower tray, can be determined. Quick setting dental plaster can then be poured on top of the upper stone model to fill in the gap between the top of the upper stone model and the top of the conventional articulator. This serves to hold all pieces in place at the correct distances corresponding to that of the patient's mouth as determined by the patient's upper and lower gums, their separation, all as replicated by the use of the trays and their impressions, as adjusted. If the configuration of the trays with molded impression material matches the stone models exactly, a perfect reconstruction of the mouth has been made and with the new dentures visible. This will facilitate the construction of the dentures. This procedure with the mechanical articulator can be done separately for the lower tray with upper palatal tray connected thereto and for the upper tray with lower tray connected thereto. Thus, a stone model can be taken of the trays with impression material and of the palatal tray to match the cavity and curvature of the interior of the patient's mouth and to accurately measure the distance between the top and bottom of the mouth.
After the stone models are complete, the impression material can be removed from the trays and the stone models. Light-cured material can be placed over the upper and lower stone models—which are now positive replicas of the patient's mouth—and maneuvered into place to form custom impression-like trays (hereinafter referred to as the “custom trays”) of the top and bottom of the mouth, in the same manner that the original impression material was used. When heated with light or otherwise cured, the custom trays will be set in place and form negatives of the patient's mouth, adapted to fit perfectly onto the stone models and thus into the patient's mouth itself. The custom trays can be placed onto and into the stone models and placed back into the conventional articulator and/or into the patient's mouth, adjacent to the lower tray and upper palatal tray.
The dental wax added to the rear of the new artificial teeth serves to hold the teeth in relative orientation with respect to the other adjacent teeth in the same row (upper and lower) in the unit and with respect to upper and lower teeth of the same unit. The wax serves, at least temporarily, as the gums into and onto which the patient's teeth will be held and located. The back-waxed teeth can then be placed onto the exterior surface of the tray (pressing the same against the vertical ridges) so that the teeth may be set in place relative to the tray for proper positioning.
Once the custom trays are re-connected to the stone models in the conventional articulator, commercially available baseplate dental wax can be heated up and attached to the custom trays to connect the impressions of the custom trays (upper and lower) to the wax substrate attached to the units or sets of teeth adhered to the exterior surface of the trays so as to leave no interstitial tooth to adjacent tooth gaps. This dental baseplate wax will also become malleable once heated, and it is adapted to be inserted along any ridges or troughs in the custom trays and to seal together the teeth to the respective upper and lower trays. The combination of wax and the teeth units, with the custom trays, will create a positive mold of the gums of the patient so as to perfectly match that patient's mouth. This will provide a dentist with the correct height and depth of the dentures so the teeth are properly positioned and orientated. This step will be performed for both the lower and upper custom impression trays.
When the base-plate wax has cooled and become set into place, the units or sets of teeth are be connected by baseplate wax to the custom trays. This will leave an upper mouth impression and a lower mouth impression, each made of the stone model, impression of the custom tray, base-plate wax, and teeth sets.
Once the stone model and wax molding is complete, conventional dental lab work can be provided, either on site at the dental office, or sent to a stand-alone dental lab. The custom trays can be turned into a final set of dentures, using basic dental principles. The same acrylic teeth of the teeth units used and adjusted on the tray can be used for the final set of dentures for a patient, with the wax molding of the custom trays (resembling the gums) replaced with acrylic. Using the technique disclosed herein, a set of dentures can be made with a perfectly molded set of “gums” which match the orientation, angle, curvature, and shape of the particular patient's mouth, so that the dentures will fit the mouth as if they were the patients' actual teeth. Additionally, the entire system and method described above can preferably be completed in a single visit, and preferably using all inexpensive disposable components.
It is an important aspect of the present invention that the units and teeth of the units used herein can actually be the final teeth of the dentures ultimately provided to the patient for use.
The products disclosed herein and the disposable system are prepared to accept digital conversion. More specifically, the present invention can be integrated to perform as a digital mouth articulator system. Thus, the devices, methods, and system can compete with digital denture companies, which are currently lacking in anterior teeth setup.
The present invention is also fully intended to be integrated with currently available and expected to be available scanning technologies, too.
The entire product and its tooth (teeth) secured to the rib of the in-mouth dental articulator can be stored and used as a CAD file. When used with existing and to be developed dental scanning technologies it will provide additional data points for implant planning software for measurements and implant planning.
Denture teeth that have known CAD data can also be placed onto the tooth rib and used with scanning technologies. This also provides much more data than currently possible.
A practitioner or a dental laboratory can elect to place identification markers or measurement markers onto or embed into the tooth rib or other component of the IntraOral Articulation System or device with scanning technologies for additional data for measurement information and implant placement information.
This and other aspects of the present invention are disclosed herein. The present invention comprises a set of new dental components, a new system and a new method for forming a set of dentures, primarily by using the patient's mouth as the intra-oral articulator. The present invention comprises new upper and lower impression forming trays with a mechanism for holding thereon a single or set of artificial teeth by use of wax on the rear of the new and artificial teeth which will grip and be held to a set of ridges on the forwardly projecting semi-circular set of ridges of the trays.